MFS Africa said its network now connects to 120 million mobile wallets across sub-Saharan Africa, enabling transactions “cross-border, cross-currency and cross-network”.

The company, which operates its MFS Hub, said it has partnerships with large operators including Airtel, Econet, MTN, Orange, Tigo and Vodafone, giving it “unparalleled reach into mobile wallets across the continent”.

The network works to facilitate transactions across networks and borders using a single API, ensuring compliance with the necessary regulations. It gives operators, banks and money transfer organisations the ability to give customers more flexible payment options, while increasing the “velocity and volume” of electronic money.

In a statement, the company cited data released by GSMA last year which said there were mobile money services available in every market in Sub-saharan African, with 33 markets featuring two or more networks.

However, it said the majority were confined to a domestic market, “with almost no interoperability between networks in either a single country or across borders”.

This, it said, “severely inhibits”, the potential of financial service providers.

“Interoperability, especially across domestic borders, is the key to unblocking the next wave of mobile financial services,” said Faisal Khan, a payments expert.

“For many service providers, it has been unclear if interconnection will actually lead to the desired network effects in their payments business. But this is changing as the financial ecosystem across Africa realises that scaling is essential for digital payments to boost economic growth.”